On the afternoon of Jan. 21, the Whataburger restaurant on Government Street was robbed by two individuals wearing masks and brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, and 18-year-old Roderick Bolton Jr. is charged with first-degree robbery in the case.

A second suspect has not yet been arrested.

According to testimony by Mobile Police Detective Adam Austin during Bolton’s preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Jay York, Bolton was identified by an employee victimized during the robbery; a woman who was “100-percent sure” it was him.

The employee, who was ordered at gunpoint to remove $600 from the store’s safe, recognized Bolton by his skin tone, height and eyes, Austin said. The defendant had once been employed at the restaurant, and the victim was his trainer, he said.

“She recognized him instantly,” Austin said.

While executing a search warrant at Bolton’s address on Bankhead Street in Mobile, a 9mm pistol was recovered in his bedroom, as well as articles of clothing, he said. Messages on his cell phone also seemed related to the crime, including one that read, “Had a lick I wanted to hit.”

“Lick” is a slang term sometimes used to describe a crime.

When he was interviewed, Bolton denied any involvement and said he was with his girlfriend until 3 a.m. the next day, the detective said.

While a second suspect hasn’t been identified as of yet, Austin said that a discussion with Bolton’s father indicated that the defendant’s stepbrother could match the description of the other masked man in the Whataburger. He was described as being dressed in black with Adidas tennis shoes marked with a white stripe, he said.